Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International, and M.K. Venu, founding editor of The Wire, discuss the state of human rights in India, crackdown on Amnesty and other NGOs, the global refugee crisis and more.

The government would do well to avoid hyping GST as India’s new midnight “tryst with destiny” and instead focus on its design and implementation, without which the biggest tax reform could turn into the biggest nightmare for the country’s economy.

Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have raised the communal temperature in the state from the fourth phase onwards, but it remains to be seen whether the party will be able to get its critical mass of Hindu votes cutting across various castes.

Between 35-40% of candidates in the UP elections have a criminal record. Many criminal acts have ideological legitimacy, resulting in reward rather than punishment, as seen in the case of the UP BJP president.

In an interview with The Wire, the former central banker talks on the infeasibility of executing demonetisation while raising concerns over re-starting the working capital cycle of small and medium businesses.

By avoiding questions on when the situation will normalise and suggesting that the growth forecast doesn’t take into account the transitory impact of demonetisation, Urijit Patel is shunning responsibility.

The Centre is effectively saying it wants a cashless economy for the millions who survive in an honest cash economy. The dishonest cash economy controlled by big business is allowed to continue and thrive.

The decision to put on hold the ban on NDTV India is a threat only half withdrawn because of the nationwide protests. The Modi government continues to create a toxic discourse around national security with the idea of nibbling at various freedoms guaranteed under the constitution.

While Ratan Tata was allegedly unhappy with Mistry’s handing of government and regulatory affairs, the larger investing community did not have a problem with the former chairman’s conservative approach.

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